I asked my son Jay to write up a throwing eval on the clips that were posted based on the mechanics that we teach. To follow are his thoughts:
Stance: Stance is pretty solid. Thighs are flat, toes pointed up the baselines. Allows for a balanced, athletic start to each skill performed by a catcher. His hand is out front, right behind the glove, which is where we want it. It allows us to make the exchange sooner, thus get rid of the ball quicker.
Throwing mechanics: FEET:Whenever we look at a throw, for evaluation purposes or otherwise, we always look at the right foot first. It is solely responsible for the positioning of the front hip and shoulder toward my target. Both being integral parts to an accurate and efficient throw. I'm looking for the inside of the right foot to be pointed towards the target before my left foot steps forward.
While the inside of your son's right foot does get pointed toward 2B, it's the way he gets it there that would have me concerned. He uses a jump-pivot to reposition his right foot, allowing his right foot to travel too far to the left (almost replacing his left foot). This will cause his body's momentum to head to the left instead of all his energy being directed at 2nd base. You will notice in just about every clip that he finishes each throw by falling off a little bit to the left.
The good news is that this can be fixed very easily. Your son just needs to focus on maintaining some contact with the ground with his right foot, while pulling it underneath his body. The trick is to not let it go any further than the middle of his body. As long as the inside of his foot is pointed at his target when it stops, his hips and shoulders will align themselves on their own. Those three things, is addition to the glove-side elbow, are the 4 things I need pointed at my target in order to deliver an accurate and efficient throw.
EXCHANGE:The next thing we look at when evaluating a throw is the exchange of the ball from the glove to the throwing hand. Here is where your son's throw can be improved the most. This part of the throw should control the timing and pace of the release. Right now, your son takes way too long to get rid of the ball. The biggest reason for this is fairly simple. The sequence of the throw is reversed. I don't want my feet controlling the pace of the throw, I want my hands to. My hands are the fastest moving parts of my body and I need to make sure I use them to get the ball out of my glove before anything else happens. I would prefer that the right foot not even begin to move until the ball is being lifted out of my glove out in front of my body.
The other issue is where the exchange is taking place in relationship to the body. He is drawing the glove backwards and up to get the ball into his hands. It is simply taking too long. You will notice in every clip that he is barely getting the ball out of the glove before his front foot hits the ground. This ensures that your son's throw is all arm. After seeing one throw, the first thought that came to mind was "wow, at what point did this kid start waking up with arm pain? And if he hasn't, it won't be long before he starts to." By drawing the glove back, and getting the ball out late, it prevents any of the energy generated by the hips to be directed into the ball during release.
I would like to see him make an attempt to get the ball out of his glove "first" and "early". This will force the feet to catch up to hands, rather than the other way around. If he focuses on turning his glove out in front of his body to get the ball out of his glove before his feet move, it will make it easier for him to get his legs involved. Thus getting more on the throw, while using less effort. The further back we make the exchange the bigger risk of an over-rotation with the top half of our body (another cause of an "all-arm" throw). The sooner I get the ball into my hands, the sooner I can allow my hips and legs to accelerate the top half of my body during the throw.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Jay Weaver
Director of Operations
New England Catching Camp
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If you look at the clip at the link below you will see the exchange and footwork we teach. The catcher is doing this drill with the ball already in his glove to eliminate receiving issues and to allow him to focus on the throwing mechanics.
Throwing Drill Coach Weaver.....aka catchingcoach
